Heh.....I remember my Dad reminiscing about a guy who always drove with a big old cigar hanging out of his mouth. I wonder if this is the guy he was talking about. Would Jimmy Howard have been regular around Nilestown/Delaware?

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Yes, Howard drove with a stogie and is a member of the Cdn Motorsport Hall of Fame. He drove for a living so I'm sure he was a regular at Nilestown/Delaware (I only watched him at the CNE and Flamboro). Perhaps someone else can confirm his regular tracks that he raced at.For me as a kid in the 1960's, Howard, Witter, Greedy, Lennox were heroes. Thanks for the great memories!

Thanks for posting the link. Nice video. Still got a sharp, active mind. No surprise. He was a smart driver and car builder. A great driver from a great time in Canadian racing. I know oldtimers who say Jimmy Howard's battles with Ted Hogan at the CNE was some of the best racing they ever saw. I remember him more as a car owner and builder.

His was the first rear engine car to win a race at Oswego, but it was a heat, not a feature...This was back in the late 1960's when winning heat races was a big deal. The car was Dodge-powered, with independent suspension. He had a lot of mechanical issues with it, and it wasn't exactly what you'd call pretty.

The first rear engine car to win a feature at Oswego was also from Canada - the #07 built by Doug Duncan and driven by John Spencer. They got that win in 1970, and then the car got completely destroyed at Delaware a few weeks later. They rebuilt it with wings and ground effects and all kinds of things...in general rear engine cars didn't really dominate through the 70's, though lots of people tried them...until Shampine built the radical offset car that got rear engines banned at Oswego.

Jimmy was a stalwart at Delaware and Nilestown. Never one to miss a chance, he drove clean and set an example for the old racing adage, it ain't cheatin til you get caught. Don't forget Jack Sharpe in that list of pioneer heroes !!!!!! Lobo 1 and Tammy 10, I think that was an even bigger "fued" than the Biederman / Hanley wars! Gawd I really feel old now!

I was lucky enough to see Howards' rear engine car race once and agree it wasn't pretty but I thought it looked better than previous attempts by other builders. Doug Duncans' rear engine car was beautiful in my eyes, also saw it race once.

It's a shame that few people under the age of 50 or so seem to know much about the history of their local tracks. Very few tracks in Ontario seem to do much to educate their fans.

Yes it is a shame. When I look at the Flamboro website, their history starts from the LateModel era of Biederman, Hanley and all the others. You wouldn't know Super Mods raced there regularly unless you're an old guy like me.

I watched Jimmy run at CNE and flamborough. My soapbox car was black and yellow number 38. When I was 50 I raced a black and yellow go kart numbered 38 for 2 years. My cousin ran hobby cars at cne (member of the canadian vintage hall of fame along with his brother) then and I went with him. Just went to a family wedding and my cousin was there and said they were having some sort of party for Jimmy.

Hey Mr. Salami, thanks for posting the old pictures on your Racechasers web site. Also, thumbs up on your announcing at Oshweken - very informative stuff. Hopefully the 360 Sprints will continue to race there for a very long time, they put on a terrific show.

A side note. Though not related to Jim Howard, this does concern the era. While watching a Saturday night race at Sunset this past summer, I happened to start talking to an older lady sitting in front of me. It turns out she is Mrs. Carl Rutledge - a famous name in Super Mod racing. Her husband owned the famed Rutledge Rocket driven by several well known drivers. It was a pleasure to chat with her.

I was lucky enough to see Howards' rear engine car race once and agree it wasn't pretty but I thought it looked better than previous attempts by other builders. Doug Duncans' rear engine car was beautiful in my eyes, also saw it race once.

It's a shame that few people under the age of 50 or so seem to know much about the history of their local tracks. Very few tracks in Ontario seem to do much to educate their fans.

Yes it is a shame. When I look at the Flamboro website, their history starts from the LateModel era of Biederman, Hanley and all the others. You wouldn't know Super Mods raced there regularly unless you're an old guy like me.

I recall the late models coming to flamborough as a special show back when the supers ran there. Earl Ross comes to mind as possibly being one of them. They seemed so so slow and boring compared to the supers.